▲ Firefighters search the site of a deadly plane crash at Muan International Airport in the southwestern county on Dec. 30, 2024. (Yonhap)

victims-plane crash

140 out of 179 killed in Jeju Air plane crash identified

MUAN, South Korea, Dec. 30 (Yonhap) -- The remains of 140 of the 179 people killed in this week's Jeju Air plane crash have tentatively been identified, the land ministry said Monday.

During a briefing for victims' families at Muan International Airport in the county 288 kilometers south of Seoul, the ministry said 165 bodies have been moved to a temporary morgue.

"Once we are ready to transfer the bodies following autopsies by investigation agencies, we will contact the families," an official said.

The victims' belongings are being gathered from the runway where the plane belly-landed and crashed into a barrier the previous day, killing 179 of the 181 people onboard.

The site will be preserved pending authorities' investigation into the cause of the accident.

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